Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway (ECoR) has reported success in railway safety after installing hot axle box detectors, a system that helps monitor the condition of a train’s wheels and axles in real time and gives early warning before a fault turns fatal. “The system detected 65 hot axle cases and in each case, the alert helped railway staff take action before the situation became dangerous. The train was checked at the next suitable station to avoid any risk,” an ECoR statement stated.According to official ECoR sources, HABD is a modern safety device that checks the temperature of axle bearings while a train moves at normal speed. It uses infrared sensors and does not touch the train. If the temperature rises beyond safe limits, the system quickly detects it.
Sometimes smoke emanates from the wheels due to the hot axle and derailments may take place because of it. “This can help prevent problems like bearing failure, brake binding, axle seizure and possible derailments. With this technology, the railway can reduce the need for manual checks and act before a failure occurs,” ECoR added.
